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Battle of Odessa
|side2= |side3= |side4= |commanders1= |commanders2= |commanders3= |commanders4= |forces1= |forces2= |forces3= |forces4= |casual1= |casual2= |casual3= |casual4= |civilian=}}The Battle of Odessa also referred to as the Siege of Odessa was a 73-day battle waged between the armies of Romania, Germany, and the Soviet Union. The battle began on August 8, 1941 and ended on October 16, 1941.http://www.worldwar2.ro/arr/?article=7 While a victory for the Axis, the heavy cost that went into securing the city severely impacted the Romanian Armed Forces and affected their ability to continue the advance into the Soviet Union as part of Operation Barbarossa. The Battle Russian defenders The garrison that initially defended Odessa were made up of the 25th and 95th Rifle Divisions, the 9th Cavalry Division, the 421st Marine Division, the 54th Rifle Regiment and an NKVD Regiment. In total some 34,500 men and 240 artillery gunss. Air support was provided by the 69th IAP, two seaplane squadrons and one bomber squadron. Later, other fighters reinforced the defenders, as did an Il-2 squadron (42 OShAE). Bombers from Crimea and Nikolaev also participated in the defence. Axis attack On 10 August, the 7th Infantry Division reached Elssas, while the Guard Division reached Strassburg - Petra Evdokievka. The 1st Armored Division also took part in the renewed advance, overrunning the Russian defenders at at Bol.Buzhalyk. The 1st Cavalry Brigade took Severinovka and the 10th Dorobanti Regiment cleared the Russian forces at Lozovaya. On 1 September, the 6th Infantry Division was pulled out of the Romanian frontlines for rest and refit, and replaced with the 3rd Infantry Division. While the 21st Infantry Division was reorganizing at Freudenthal, the 8th and 14th Infantry Divisions advanced towards Tatarka. On 2 September, the Russians counterattacked the 8th and 14th Divisions and managed to reach the supporting artillery positions. The 24th Artillery Regiment managed to contain the enemy attackers, until reinforcements in the form of the 6th Mihai Viteazul ''Guard Regiment and a company of tanks arrived and stabllized the affected Romanian lines . Meanwhile, the ''Hadjibey Detachment from the 1st Cavalry Brigade advanced, reaching positions 5 kilometres outside Avgustovka. On 3 September, the Colonel Mihailescu Detachment with the supporting German 70th Assault Pioneer Battalion captured the town of Vakarzhany, where Russian forces had been fighting behind enemy lines. On 6 September, the Axis advance resumed but made little progress in the face of stiff Russian resistance. Nevertheless, the Guard Division reached positions outside Marienthal. A Romanian company was counterattacked in the fighting and forced to retreat. On 12 September, the Romanian 4th Army resumed their advance with the 3rd and 7th Infantry Divisions capturing Bol.Bostanaya Hill. That evening, the Romanians repelled a strong Russian counterattack. In the meantime, the 8th Infantry Division attacked the Russian defenders outside Marienthal and the 7th Vanatori Regiment were encircled in a Russian counterattack. On 13 September, the Romanian 3rd and 7th Infantry Divisions were unable to advance due to heavy fire. In the evening, the encircled Romanian regiment was rescued. In their stubborn defence, Major Vasile Pretorian and two other officers won the Mihai Viteazul Order 3rd class. On 16 September, the Romanian 1st Army Corps captured the heights outside Gross-Liebental. The Lieuteneant- Colonel Eftimiu Detachment and 7th Cavalry Brigade reached the area south of the Sukhoy Bank. About 3,000 Russian soldiers were captured in the successful advance. However,the Russian commanders were reinforced with the arrival of the 157th Rifle Division and 12,600 fresh troops. Russian reinforcements also arrived from Norovosiysk. Bol Dalnitskaya The Romanian Army High Command expected the recent gains to signal the collapse of the Russian defences. On 17 September, Marshal Antonescu with General Alexandru Ioanitiu (Chief-of-Staff) arrived at the Romanian frontlines to oversee the final drive. However, upon arrival at 4th Army Headquarters at Baden, General Ioanitiu was killed in an accident. That morning, Major-General Nicolae Dascaclescu's 21st Infantry Division attacked the defences outside Dalnik, with the German 38th Infantry Regiment and assault pioneers in support. Around midday, the German infantry regiment reached the outskirts of the town but took heavy casualties and was forced to retreat. The situation was remedied with the employment of General Dascaclescu's reserve. The 3rd and 5th Infantry Divisions were also involved in fierce fighting on the slopes of the Bol Dalnitskaya Hill. The Russians counterattacked, pushing the Frontier Guard Division some 3 kilometres. The fighting continued, with the 21st Infantry Division fought to a complete standstill. In the meantime, the fighting continued on the slopes of the slopes of Bol Dalnitskaya which was fiercely defended by the 3rd Battalion from the 161st Rifle Regiment. Eventually the Russian defenders was encircled and defeated in the attacks from the 3rd Division. However, the Romanians were unable to capture the important hill 1 kilometre southeast of Dalnik Russian counterattack On 2 October, the Russian commanders attacked the Romanian 6th Infantry Division and Frontier Guard Division with the 25th and 157th Rifle Divisions, 2nd Cavalry Division and plenty of ground-attack support. Russian infantry and a battalion of tanks advanced along the Dalnik - Perselenet road, with the 8th, 36th Machine-Gun Battalions and 5th Frontier Guard Regiment retreating in the confusion. However, part of the 6th Infantry Division held firm, preventing a complete Romanian collapse. The gunners from the 1st Heavy Artillery Regiment and of the 54th Artillery Regiment also fought on, claiming 12 tanks destroyed, although several batteries were affected and overrun. The Romanian 8th Fighter Group also intervened, with IAR-80s dropping 16 tons of bombs on the advancing Russians. Captain Vasile Antoniu with several of his men protecting the artillery batteries, engaged the Russian tanks with Molotov cocktails. He was later awarded the Mihai Viteazul Order 3rd Class. At 1300 hours, the Russian attacks were finally stopped at 1 kilometre southwest of Hutor Dalnitsky with the employment of the Romanian reserve. On the night of 3/4 October, the Romanians counterattacked with the 7th and 21st Divisions, restoring their broken lines. However, the Russian commander had managed to evacuate 86,000 defenders from Odessa thanks to the Russian counterattack. Capture On the night of 8/9 October, the 19th Infantry Regiment attacked and captured the town of Anchestovo and in the morning, overran part of the concrete defensive system along the Gnilaya Valley-Dalnik Atarka line, dislocating the entire Russian position in the Gnilaya Valley. The 11th Infantry Division also met with success, overrunning the Russian positions outside Gniliakovo, despite enemy counterattacks with supporting tanks. Several Russian units were overrun and 400 POWs were claimed. The 10th Infantry Division attacked the forces defending Tatarka. The 33rd Infantry Regiment penetrated the defences, but the Russians counterattacked with tanks, overrunning part of the regiment and capturing the Regimental Headquarters. Two Mihai Viteazul 3rd Class Orders were awarded posthumously to members of the 33rd Regiment. The Russians took 500 Romanian POWs in the attack. On 14 October, Russian warships shelled the positions of the 5th Corps with the Romanian General Staff reporting the heavy presence of enemy naval activity. On the night of 14/15 October, the Romanian commanders ordered battalions to be ready to advance, in case the Russians withdrew, the retreat had to be fully exploited. The forward Romanian reconnaissance teams were met with heavy fire. The Romanian advance was hurried as a result. On the morning of 16 October, the 7th Infantry Division entered Odessa. At 1600 hours the Eftimiu Detachment captured the port. By evening the last Russian rearguards had been eliminated. Aftermath Losses The Romanians suffered 17,729 killed, 63,345 wounded and 11,471 captured or missing."The Romanian forces had almost 100,000 casualties ... of which 17,729 were killed, 63,345 were wounded, and 11,471 were missing in action." War in the Balkans: An Encyclopedic History from the Fall of the Ottoman Empire to the Breakup of Yugoslavia, Richard C. Hall, ABC-CLIO, 2014 The Russians reported the loss of 16,578 killed and 24,690 wounded. They managed to evacuate about 350,000 soldiers and civilians from the city."Comparatively, the Soviet side reported slightly over 41,000 casualties, and the Soviet navy managed to evacuate 350,000 soldiers and civilians from the city." War in the Balkans: An Encyclopedic History from the Fall of the Ottoman Empire to the Breakup of Yugoslavia, Richard C. Hall, ABC-CLIO, 2014 On 1 May 1945, Odessa received the honorary title of "hero city". References Category:Battles in the Eastern Front Category:1941 Category:Battles Category:Battle of Odessa